How Will I Know Bed Bugs When I See Them?
They can be found anywhere, whether a home or a hotel. Bed bugs cannot fly, but they can move anywhere undetected due to their tiny size. They also get transported from other places to your home due to their flat bodies which hardly would require any space to fit themselves in. They hide in the walls, in the cracks, under mattresses and furniture. If you ever have woken up with covered in unrecognisable red patches allover your body, most probably that's the job of those little bloodsuckers!!!!
What are exactly bed bugs?
Bedbugs are insects that feed on live animals and human bodies. Female bedbugs are known to lay hundreds of eggs during their lifetime. Each of these eggs is the size of a small dust particle and cannot be seen easily with a naked eye. Bedbugs are usually active throughout the night, while you are asleep. They are somehow similar to an applepip both in shape and color. It is reddish-brown and gets darker after a succulent blood meal.
Bedbugs have three pairs of legs / two claws are present at the tip of them, allowing the insect to attach to the skin while feeding. On the head, visible tentacles and eyes can be seen.
Besides the fact that bed bugs can survive a long time without feeding because of a low metabolic rate and resistance to starvation
they also travel to adjacent furniture. That might be why Washington, D.C., a place where millions of area residents mingle with countless travelers rank as higher on recent lists of cities most affected by bed bugs. Apart from seeing them in their hiding spots, a flea marketwhere hundreds of vendors packed into outdoor stalls and tents offer everything you could possibly imagine, from handmade quilts and blankets to leather goods, furniture, vintage wares, makes you think twice whether you "bargain" to pay just a bit more than an antique armchair.
Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!
#1 Bed Bugs Bites are Three Times Itchier than Mosquito Bites
Despite the medical training professionals are often hindered by the fact that reactions to bed bug bites can vary from person to person. Bed bugs normally bite 3-4 times in a consecutive straight line or in the shape of a triangle. The wounds are raw red in color and unpleasantly itchy. Some people are so allergic to the bites that they create a rash and extreme itching, while others may not by any means know they were bitten.
#2 Watch Out for Those Antiques
Bed bugs lay eggs in the mattresses and in between the frame and padding of soft furniture. They don't feed every day, so the attacks are every 2-4 days mainly. Many people underestimate the marks on the body and allow them to multiply. In such situations, getting rid of bugs will require pest control service a replacement of furniture and even renovation if you don't use preventing steps.
#3 Preventing Infestation
- Wash the bedding and mattress cover regularly. Very high or very low temperatures.
If you have a carpet it is necessary to wash it with hot water or steam to get rid of unseen to the eye eggs. - Diatomaceous earth products are registered for use against bed bugs, cockroaches, crickets, fleas, ticks, spiders, and many other pests. Diatomaceous earth causes insects to dry out and die. Its sharp edges are abrasive, speeding up the process. It remains effective as long as it is kept dry and undisturbed, leave a generous amount at furniture legs, wall cracks, wardrobes, around windows and everywhere where bugs could hide.
- Bed bugs cannot survive in temperatures above 130 degrees Fahrenheit for more than a few hours. Steam clean your linens and furniture thoroughly with a steam cleaner to increase the temperature.
Follow these steps to prevent infestation. Keep your home safe!
